Play Structure Funding Changes

As part of the 2014-2015 budget, the Board approved increased funding ( $300,000) to assist school communities in developing their school grounds or installing or replacing their playstructures.

In the past most schools applied for funds from the City of Ottawa’s Community Partnership Minor Capital Program up to ($7,500) which were matched by the Facilities department. The Board/Facilities portion has now been raised to up to $25,000, although more funds may be available to help address unique circumstances. The difference in the cost of a project and the funding provided will remain the school community’s responsibility, and may be met through fund raising or sponsorships.

To assist schools and school communities in their application to the Board for funding, staff has developed the Board Funding Application Request (Form 700). The Form 700 may be used in conjunction with the City’s minor capital program. A flow chart, attached, outlines the timelines and steps for both the Board and City funding approvals. There is also an accelerated timeline for submissions (with a due date of 31 November). Funding approval by the School Operations Committee (SOC) ( by the end of January). Funding approval by School Operations Committee (SOC) will take into account the information provided on the form, equity, special circumstances, and will prioritize and rank the projects in accordance with the available funds. Projects can be carried over to the following year but will be ranked with the newer projects once they are submitted. We expect this year to be a transistion year because of projects that are presently proposed.

Please find attached a copy of Form 700 (as well as a sample completed form) and the City’s application form for the Community Partnership Minor Capital Program. Facilities staff would be happy to assist you in the process. If you have any questions please address them to Dan Fournier, Project Leader, Architrectural and Engineering (daniel.fournier@ocdsb.ca) in Facilities.

Thank you to all of the school communities who submitted an application for funding. The submissions by school communities for consideration by the School Operations Committee (SOC) totaling $635,000. Unfortunately, not all of the submissions could be approved at this time given that the budget was only $300,000. The following is the list of schools that were approved for the 2015 school year. Attached please find the amounts allocated to the approved schools.

Carson Grove E.S.

Centennial P.S.

Clifford Bowey P.S.

General Vanier P.S,

Glashan P.S.

Hawthorne P.S.

Le Phare P.S.

Pleasant Park P.S.

Richmond P.S.

York Street P.S.

Please note that schools who applied and have not been selected for this year, will remain on the list for next year’s consideration. They will not be required to resubmit their application. However, many of these schools are in the process of applying for the City’s Minor Capital Grant program and seeking other forms of funding. Updates regarding other funding sources should be submitted through the principal to Dan Fournier (Daniel.Fournier@ocdsb.ca) in the Facilities department. School files will then be updated for consideration next year along with any new submissions.